Who We Are

Television of Nomads

One of the young Berbers who had helped in our sand baptism gestures to the sky. ‘You, at home in America, you have T.V.’s to watch, television…artificial, right? But this…’ he says, spreading his arms at the white moon, the black screen so clustered with constellations, with shooting stars, millions of light-years trapped in one singular moment of time…

this is the television of nomads.’

-Lauren West, Television of Nomads: A Name Origin Story

 

About the Name, Television of Nomads

As this young Berber man described it, and as we have applied it to our travel blog, the Television of Nomads is the natural wonder that unfolds in front of our eyes when we go out into the world. It’s the alternative to sitting at home, eyes glued to a screen in a box of a building. And thus it’s everything we hope to inspire you to go out and see for yourselves. This travel blog is a collection of guides to start you on your own journeys, so you too can go out and see that wonderful, magnificent world that is, in the most honest, and natural, and captivating way, the television of nomads.


 

Lauren West

Twitter | Instagram

Lauren Lee West, UCLA student and Filipina mestiza writer
A wayfaring writer with a restlessness for the unfamiliar, Lauren sprung from a family that always encouraged a nomadic spirit. Movement was in her blood, having been born from a mother who migrated to the states from the Philippines at age 14, and a father who bounced from state to state his entire adolescence. From the age of 11, Lauren lived a bi-coastal life, spending most of the year in South Florida, and the summer months in her birthplace of Los Angeles, California. While her family had taken Lauren-Biointernational trips fairly consistently throughout her life, it wasn’t until Lauren had received scholarships to study abroad in Chiang Mai, Thailand and Prague, Czech Republic, that she began to develop a voyaging style all her own. She began probing independently throughout Thailand, and then through Europea travel-themed coming-of-age story climaxing in a formative backpacking trip through the spine of Morocco with one of her Prague roommates.

After returning home to snag her UCLA diploma and build up a few freelancing writing and editing creds, Lauren leaped out from the City of Angels to land somewhere new, anywhere, to pull those “strings of tension waiting to be struck,” a description Emerson used for the world’s countless opportunities, to ride the cultural convolutions, revel in the rhythm, and hang on every note the world has to offer.

But no matter what, despite the changing scenery and home-bases, there will always be one constant: movement.

Find out where we’ve been.

Benjamin Juster

Twitter | Instagram

Ben Juster, UCLA student and contestant on College Jeopardy

Boy met girl 13 years ago and, quickly, immediately, and all at once, they became deeply involved. Ben and Lauren applied and got accepted to UCLA together, taking their free-time to explore the cultural landscape of Westwood and Los Angeles hand-in-hand, as well as nearby cities like Mammoth, Indio, and Santa Barbara. Their first international venture together was in 2012, when Ben came to visit Ben Juster, UCLA student and contestant on College JeopardyLauren in Prague during her semester abroad.

Lauren soon passed her love for travel onto Ben, who quickly learned that travel really can be made more accessible than often believed, and doesn’t require a trust fund, exceptional luck, or wings and a unicorn to ride on.

Ben, however, did certainly have some good fortune—after winning some money from a quick stunt on College Jeopardy, he was able to pay off his credit card debt. The couple then took a very frugal backpacking trip to Peru, a trip rocked heavily by protests through the Southern region that taught Ben the very valuable lesson of flexibility while traveling. Soon enough, Ben took his own trip through Southeast Asia, crossing off several countries, learning his own integral travel lessons. Today, Ben navigates the couple’s trips across the globe, picking up languages along the way (so far he can speak Spanish, Korean, German and can read Cyrillic, Greek, and Korean!).

53 Comments

  • Reply
    Rashminotes
    at 11:03 pm

    You have a wonderful blog; look forward to reading many of your posts:)
    Thanks for stopping by mine!

  • Reply
    Rachel S
    at 2:06 am

    Your blog is gorgeous!! Thank you so much for the like!

    • Reply
      televisionofnomads
      at 10:37 am

      Thank you so much, Rachel!

      • Reply
        Lillian Aaronson
        at 11:20 pm

        I worked with your mom!! Congratulations on your success!!

  • Reply
    meticulousmick
    at 10:31 pm

    Cheers for the positive comments on my humble corner of the blogosphere, really appreciated. Hope to see you around some more. In the meantime let me explore your own work, MM 🍀

  • Reply
    shanefx
    at 2:59 pm

    cool

  • Reply
    thedoorstepcat
    at 1:49 am

    Nice to meet you. Thanks for stopping by

  • Reply
    Trish Uy
    at 1:23 pm

    Love your blog! <3

  • Reply
    Simonette Lubbe
    at 12:07 am

    Lovely blog, very interesting.

  • Reply
    HNIN AYE THIN
    at 1:18 am

    Wow. You have travelled nearly 30 countries. I wana meet both of you one day

    • Reply
      Lauren West
      at 10:00 am

      If we drop by Malaysia maybe you could show us around! 🙂

  • Reply
    Estelle
    at 11:28 am

    Wow this is a really awesome life you both have! Thank you for stopping by my blog. Am looking forward to reading more about Seoul as I will be there for 10 days at the end of July. 🙂 Also, what a coincidence! I’m also thinking about teaching English abroad as a means to travel. Would love to read more about your experiences xx

    • Reply
      Lauren West
      at 12:29 pm

      Cheers, Estelle! We can definitely try to post more about Seoul before your trip! Thanks for stopping by 🙂

  • Reply
    Charis
    at 4:06 pm

    Thanks for liking my post! Thought I would check your blog out 😀 really love it! Can’t wait to read about your adventures all over the world!

    • Reply
      Lauren West
      at 7:58 pm

      Oh thank you so much!

  • Reply
    demi
    at 1:57 am

    Awesome!

    • Reply
      Lauren West
      at 9:52 am

      Glad you think so, Demi!

  • Reply
    Harsha Balur
    at 1:59 pm

    Hello,

    You have a great blog with such diverse experiences. Inspiring!! Thanks for following my blog. And do consider India as a destination. I amm certain, you will love it 🙂

    • Reply
      Lauren West
      at 10:11 am

      Thank you so much, Harsha! India is definitely in the works for us soon enough!

  • Reply
    Kathy
    at 8:44 pm

    Your blog is so interesting! 😀 Can’t wait to go read more 🙂

    • Reply
      televisionofnomads
      at 9:55 am

      Appreciate the compliment, Kathy!

  • Reply
    Lex and Neek
    at 1:44 am

    Hi Lauren and Ben! Looking forward to seeing more of your exciting posts and photos. Thank you for liking our post on “Seven Magic Mountains – Magical Sculptures”

    • Reply
      televisionofnomads
      at 9:56 am

      Glad to hear it, Lex and Neek! Keep up the great work yourselves!

  • Reply
    Raveen Johal
    at 4:58 pm

    I love everything about this blog! I can’t wait to read more 🙂

    • Reply
      Lauren West
      at 9:11 pm

      That puts the biggest smile on my face, Raveen!

  • Reply
    Debbie Diljak
    at 9:16 am

    Just cruised around your blog. I like it! Thanks for visiting mine.

  • Reply
    Brian Lageose
    at 3:02 pm

    Cool site. Now, would you consider adding a “like” option on the posts so that folks can really show their appreciation?

    • Reply
      Lauren West
      at 2:25 pm

      Thanks, Brian! Yeah, no like button, but hey, we do have those “share” buttons for some appreciation-showing 😉

  • Reply
    Curlygirlabroad
    at 6:56 pm

    I nominated you for an award! If you like doing it here is the link: https://curlygirlabroad.wordpress.com/2016/09/22/blogger-recognition-award-2/, no pressure though! 🙂

    • Reply
      Lauren West
      at 1:31 pm

      Wow, thank you so much! We’ll definitely check it out!

  • Reply
    Ian
    at 11:23 pm

    What a fantastic blog! Thank you for stopping by at carazian.wordpress.com.

  • Reply
    Katie
    at 6:38 am

    Thanks for stopping by my blog! Love the inspiration I’m getting from yours! 🙂

  • Reply
    Kimberley
    at 8:57 am

    Love the explanation behind the site name.

  • Reply
    Sara - I do what I want to
    at 7:15 pm

    Great guys keep the traveling running!

  • Reply
    Stephanie Frias
    at 3:12 am

    Fascinating story, beautiful blog! Looking forward to following your journey and hopeful to see a few little ones join your quest…just like ours did! Our story began in California too, an ideal place to find your wings ♡

  • Reply
    Television of Nomads
    at 3:26 am

    […] We're Lauren and Ben, a couple of LA natives (one writer and one Jeopardy! contestant) with a thirst for the world who have left behind the city we will always call home to travel and teach English on the Korean island of Jeju. We've caught a travel bug that we will never lose, and over the 28 countries we've visited, we've racked up a ton of travel knowledge we want to share with you all! Learn more about us. […]

  • Reply
    Ted West
    at 10:14 pm

    Hey Lauren, your paternal grandparents lived in a dozen states. US states.

  • Reply
    Pruthvi
    at 4:40 am

    Great work guys. Met u at the way pho today

  • Reply
    Television of Nomads
    at 7:14 am

    […] We're Lauren and Ben, a couple of LA natives (one writer and one Jeopardy! contestant) with a thirst for the world. We've caught a travel bug that we will never lose, and over the 35+ countries we've visited, we've racked up a ton of travel knowledge we want to share with you all! Learn more about us. […]

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